Adexios sat down near the campfire. It was that time again, the time when the old shaman would tell him and his brood about the myths of the old world. He had started to enjoy them and as much as he hated to admit it and even if he wasn't that interested in the first half of it, the story of Lacerta's rise to power had been something thrilling.
Their God had started off weak, mindless, and nothing but a creature that went from one carcass to another to feed and get stronger but at one point in time, their God had noticed that he had gotten smarter, more cunning and as time went on, he became more and more pronounced at hunting using his brain, and after their God ate the carcass of a massive creature that once lurked the swamps known as the Spinosaur, he had managed to evolve, become bigger and stronger.
that, was, apparently, their God's start to his rise of power.
after he had evolved, their God started to become solitary due to the fact that he looked completely different from his previous species and thus, was chased out of his pack. Though, this didn't really deter their God as he went and continued to eat and grow smarter and stronger until eventually, he had taken the form that the Lizard men have now. Something that Adexios has noticed as it seems that every other God that had started to form had somehow taken the form of a "humanoid" being and when he asked, he got the simple answer of - "well, young one, this is apparently the best body type for creature's with four limbs to evolve intelligence because of the fact that not only does our current posture hold up our brain, the organ that enables us to think but it also gives us the ability to manipulate our surroundings as our forelimbs, or, arms, in everyone's case, have more or less given free space and leverage to become dextrous." - from his shaman.
of course, Adexios didn't really understand nor could he put a finger on what the old reptile was saying but if he were to get something from her words then it would be the fact that standing up makes him smarter and that, made him attempt to sleep whilst standing up in which he was quickly reprimanded for.
And when he reasoned that it was because the old shaman said so, he was told that the best sleeping position for that is the one that makes him rest his spine and when he asked, he was told that if he were to be in a sleeping position that helps him rest his spine then it would be the usual sleeping positions of the Lizard men in which they lie down belly first in the ground.
of course, he followed what they said but only after the elders told him that sleeping on his back meant that his hard hide would be hindering his spine and he would simply wake up with a backache along with a body that didn't properly rest. And of course, Adexios didn't even try to go against them as he once again started sleeping in his usual position.
all of that, happened in the course of one night.
at the thought, Adexios bit into his food and he watched as the mud golem - a scene that he is well used to by now, - started to collapse into itself, returning to the mire that it had come from. "well then, once the peace of the second Era had been established, the Gods, - including our own, - created their own races knowing that the world now is unable to do so." Adexios frowned, the world again. he thought. Why is it so... simple? It became sick due to its own actions and if it hadn't let the demon ascend then surely, creatures would still be sprouting from the ground in the same way that the Shaman's golems do.
"for a brief moment, the world boomed as a myriad of races started to emerge, each one having been created by a respective God and Lacerta, having felt nostalgic during that time no doubt, created a race that is based off of his very first kill." A creature with a large, powerful body emerged from the ground, - made of mire still, but, a creature of power nonetheless, - it had a long, whip like tail and a sail that looked like a thin, one dimensional hill on its back. A mouth, seemingly simple to Adexios' own but far longer opened before clamping down. The Golem walked back and forth, it then circled around the group, going from one of Adexios' broodmate after the next, some leaned in, attempting to touch but it quickly ran away.
"the Spinosaurians," says the shaman, smiling at the antics of Adexios' broodmates. "was the name of Lacerta's race." the golem went back to her before collapsing, green energy seeped out of its decaying body, it went to the shaman, climbed up her body before stopping around her nose where she breathed it in, "and as our God invested almost a quarter of his energy to their creation, they were powerful.
"each one, I might say, is capable of being a God amongst our current battlefield and that, was something Lacerta was proud of." the shaman's eyes flashed green and figures emerged from the ground, they were grotesque if not humanoid, some were thin, others were large, most were bulky. Their features were askewed and were obviously unnatural, all of them had various mouths of differing sizes, limbs came aplenty and eyes were everywhere. Demons. "little did he know that his very power that he created would be instrumental in the second rise of the Ascended demon."
they all walked around, and unlike the spinosaur of before, the brood avoided them, some hissed in agression and the demons, seemingly in a trance, stopped once the hissed was heard. The shaman smiled, a warm one. "as the peace of the second era descended upon the world, the deities, or, perhaps, the un-ascended gods or the Demi Gods got worried that they won't be able to grow powerful in a way that their brethren did and in their times of worry, a bright idea lit up atop their heads-
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""what if,"" they said, "what if we let everyone know that they too can become gods?"" the shaman air quoted and Adexios wondered, if he too can ascend and as he looked around, it seemed as though he wasn't the only one with such thoughts but... that's exactly the lesson that the shaman is teaching is. He thought to himself as he shook his head, "and so, whispers of power came around the world," the demons became blobs, replaced by humanoid figures that represented various races; there were horned beings, with weapons atop their heads that were as long as their own limbs, the tip of the horns were sharp, pointed, dangerous. Then, there were smaller, thin figures that Adexios thought to be humans but a closer inspection made him see that they in fact, had ears that reminded him of elves, - he was warned by the elders of such nefarious beings, said to be tricksters, he was told to never venture near their forests. - then, there were the humans, basic, thin, and completely weak looking.
of course, there were other races too but Adexios paid them no heed, the barbaric Orcs and the small goblins seemed to have not pose as a threat and the harpy's, well, those guys do not really care about anything unless they were provoked. Or, atleast, that is what the elders told him and even if they did admit that they have not encountered the flying humanoids, Adexios chose to believe them.
of course, there was also a race that caught Adexios' eye, the Dwarves, or so he was told, were a group of beings that liked to craft, tinker, and make objects. Something that he too, is fascinated by and a part of him hoped that he would meet the short little things should the time come. A dream that Adexios considered to be too farfetched. Even for him.
"most of these beings," The shaman continued on, "have long since vanished and others, such as the high elves and the humans, have long since deteriorated whilst some, - the Giants, the Reapers, the Devilkin and so on, - have been reduced to but a speck of their original numbers."
"but aren't the Reapers and the Giants powerful?!" a loud, high pitched voice with a croak that made Adexios wince said from the pile of hatchlings. The shaman, in turn, smiled and turned at the direction of the sound,
"but of course," she says, "and the fact that the current them is still as powerful as their olden counterparts speak of just how strong they are but-" the shaman shook her head and a figure of the reaper flew, it had the head of a scavenger and the body of a humanoid and in the shaman's case, she used the head of the jackal to represent her reaper figure. The golem had furred skin and a loose, dress like cloth around his body, the hems of the dress flew well below his legs, obscuring the taloned foot that, according to myth, is used by them to dig the graves of the dead where they eat the corpse to prevent demons from rising. "-sadly, the war that occured during the second era was something that even they cannot escape."
Adexios went silent and drowned out the words of explanation that came out of the Shaman's mouth. How strong and devestating was the war then? According to myth, the Giants were far more powerful than any of the other creations back then, having been made of pure the pure world elements, they were considered to have been the greatest of all the races that has sprouted and yet...
Adexios looked up, he opened his mouth but quickly closed it. How could the Shaman know the state of the now solitary Giants? She couldn't have. No one knows what they are all doing right now.
he smirked and shook his head out of all the stupid thoughts that lingered within it and listened to the story of the Shaman, "-more and more of the races started to go under the banner of rebellion, under the banner and promise of power and as time went on, the once hidden demonic cults of the second era started to emerge, one by one, they all revealed themselves and the Gods, having had enough of their own creations' foolish actions, attacked their well established cities with unrelenting tides of power that shook the earth and yet,
"their creations persevered and after a long, arduous war against their own creations and brethren, once again, the Ascended Demon rose and the world was plunged into chaos for the second time.
"after the fight with the Ascended demon thousands of years before, the aftermath was that the Gods have been reduced in numbers thanks to valiant sacrifices that were more than necessary to keep the abomination down and the Gods, as few as they are in the second era, knew that they couldn't just sacrifice more of their kin and so, the greatest of them devised of a plan, one, that would create the very thing the current kings and rulers of the world have sought after for centuries, a magic circle thought to have been able to do anything with the right amount of energy; Starlight." the races that the shaman created collapsed before conjuring into a circle at the center of everyone, right next where the old Reptile sat.
"although I do not know what kind of patterns are present within the circle, it can be said that through these patterns, the language of the world itself is spoken and when enough is given, a voice could be formed." several spires rose from the magic circle, they all grew taller and taller, up until they reached the height of the Shaman's head. At their tip, was an abomination, a blob of tentacles and limbs, the Ascended demon. "a voice, that ask a single wish from the world and that wish,-" the Ascended demon popped into an explosion of dust and mire, "-was turned into the execution of the Ascended Demon for the second time,"
the Shaman stood up and dusted herself off as green energy seeped out of the mire. "after that, well? The Gods got tired," she says, "their most powerful slept and the ones that were left, created the world's current guardians; The Dragon Kin, the Serpents of the Sea, and the Manticores of the Mountains.
"and then, they left. To heal." the shaman started walking and Adexios stood up along with his broodmates to give way for the old reptile, "though, make no mistake for they always watch."